Plan B

07.21.11

Boehner Wants Backup Plan

Harry Hamburg / AP Photo

House Speaker John Boehner called for a backup plan Thursday, asking Obama and congressional leaders to formulate a Plan B as indecision on a debt-ceiling plan seems imminent. "I think it would be irresponsible on behalf of the Congress and the president not to be looking at backup strategies for how to solve this problem,” Boehner said in news conference. “But in the meantime, the House has acted. We've passed our cut, cap, and balance bill. It's time for the Senate to act." The Senate will most likely defeat the House bill in favor of a bigger deficit reduction. While Boehner is intent on meeting the Aug. 2 deadline, he also stressed the necessity of dealing with another issue at hand: controlling the nation's future debt. "If we don't deal with the size of our debt, our credit rating is going to be downgraded. If the United States of America's debt rating gets downgraded, every interest rate in America will go up,” Boehner said. “It is important for us to act on both fronts. If we're serious about getting our economy going again and growing jobs.”